Lady Sedona: Origins
by Rhonda Petrie
Summary: Prequel to Sentimental Kiss. This story chronicles the life and loves of Lady Sedona, aka Experiment 1192, and the hardships she must face as she encounters love, betrayal, villainy and the secrets that find her connected to much more than she believes.


**Lady Sedona: Origins**

**Created by: Rhonda Petrie**

**December 2****nd****, 2009**

**Author's Note: Alleluiah!!!! Thank God I'm finally writing another story!!!! Well, let me explain what has happened to me in the past few months before you read this story. Well, what happened was that I was COMPLETELY stuck with "Maude's Big Movie: Tuckahoe Saga" and I was constantly going back and forth with the ideas and characters as I examined them and wrote descriptions of the characters I was going to use. I had to cut out a couple of characters from my outline and because of a combination of writer's block, personal issues coupled with what I would dub "midlife crisis", and of course, school, I was unable to update for close to three months, four if you are now counting December. **

**In the meantime I did another outline for a planned sequel for my Maude story called "Maude's Canadian Odyssey: Shiloh Solstice", (me like that title), which is still up in the air, and I continued up on my schoolwork. And of course I have been having internal conflicts between following my own instincts as a writer and following people's advice. I should add the commencement of this fanfiction in my profile really soon. And eventually I reached the breaking point and in light of this new fanfiction, I was forced to discontinue my Maude story indefinitely. Okay, this is probably something I should elaborate in my profile and not in here, so let's move on to the storyline and the miraculous genesis of this story.**

**All righty then, so this is how this story panned out: this fanfiction has been A LONG TIME COMING, ever since the utter failure of my previous story, Sentimental Kiss, in which Lady Sedona and Dr. Clemenceau were first introduced. I swore to myself that if I had a good idea for a prequel I will write it down as soon as possible and after I'm done with it, I'll use the new information I've concocted to rewrite a (hopefully successful) new version of Sentimental Kiss and take down the old version permanently in adherence to site rules. This means that two or more characters that were in the original story will be deleted from the new fanfiction by proxy, such as Leroy and probably Reuben, but it would depend on how this story will advance in time. **

**While I was mulling about the current Maude crisis, somehow, I began to develop a new idea about the promised prequel. I was so excited by the idea and was so glad that my imagination had not died down on me that at school I started work immediately on the outline, which helps to some extent. Now, in my case, usually when I have an idea for the story, first I come up with the title and THEN I proceed with the idea. However, this time was the other way around. I had a clear idea for the story, but I did not know what to call it at first. **

**The story was under the working title "Lady Sedona, Experiment 1192: Origins", which I really hated since it felt and sounded too long to flow smoothly and my gut instinct told me I needed to shorten it with a more concise, catchier title. It was not until I corresponded with fellow writer MSDR89, aka Jessica, for whom I've reviewed her X-Files fanfiction, "The X-Files: What Ever Happened To Baby William?", and she suggested to me that I title it, "Lady Sedona". Well, that solved the "Experiment 1192" part of the problem, but I was still not satisfied with the title. It was not bewitching or enticing enough; it needed some sort of cinematic gimmick, per say... something was just not there. And then I came up with the title "Lady Sedona: Origins". I was happy because I always wanted to have the origins subtitle in the title, (sorry for the tongue twister), and it kind of reminded me of "X-Men Origins: Wolverine", if anyone had seen that movie. **

**After giving it some thought, I approved the title and I continued on with the outline. In the meantime I worked on the trailer based on the fanfiction; I cannot work on it now because my computer is down and I have to borrow my mom's. One reason why I wanted to work on this story was because for some odd reason or another I always had some sort of fascination with origin stories. They always seem somewhat enchanting and appealing to me. And this was the best damn storyline for an origin story I have worked on! **

**And I must credit MSDR89 for helping me come up with the title. Developing the characters was gradual and painstaking work and is still ongoing; I was not worried about Lady Sedona and Dr. Clemenceau because I already created them. As for Leon, he was inspired from Aunt Figg's crooked lawyer, Lickboot, from Tom and Jerry: The Movie and when I created the trailer I used pictures of Tony Jay, (may he rest in peace), as models. The same goes for Dr. Clemenceau; I also used photos of Bea Arthur as models as well. His last name was changed to Perriot because I thought it had a better sound than Poirot, which was a name taken from Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot and I was also inspired by James Coco's character from "Murder By Death"; I have seen that movie around the time I conceived the storyline for "Lady Sedona: Origins" (Thank God I did not have him adopt that name permanently; I would have been sued by Agatha Christie's estate!) And now I must outline the plot of the story.**

**This story is about the secret and dark origins of Lady Sabrina Sedona, aka Experiment 1192, who was created by Dr. Laverne Hortense Clemenceau, a Welsh forensic scientist who also moonlights as a prosecutor, veterinarian, and social worker, and famous French scientist Dr. Leon James Perriot. Dr. Clemenceau is in her early 60s with a genius I.Q. and a graduate of Harvard University, class of 1962 and with the help of Leon Perriot, who is her partner, Lady Sedona was generated with a combination of Stitch's unique design and DNA, a couple of mattress springs, which is where the antennae came from, a portion of DNA and the soul of a lioness that the galactic guards had caught straying into the planet and had shot dead hours earlier. Besides possessing a venerable position in the Galactic Council as a invaluable researcher for data of various life forms and also one of the planet's most foremost public figures, she also owns a total of 1,780 experiments - a lot more than Jumba ever created! **

**Among the experiments portrayed in the novel are Memphis Belle, aka Experiment 1903, who is the mistress of sound and thunder, Zaiden, also known as Zapper and abiding by the experiment number 1902, possesses electrokinesis, (the ability to generate and control electricity), Byron, now known as Experiment 1901 and who has pyrokinesis, (the ability to conjure fire with your mind), Zephyr, (Experiment 1907), the master of aerokinesis, (the ability to create and manipulate air), Sergeant, (Experiment 1910), who resembles Kixx except in a light pea green soup color and who wields strength, Karma, (Experiment 1915), who has the power to gather and accumulate information about people's past lives and study data from them while unveiling secrets and obscure connections in the process and who ironically was a boy before I made her a girl; Genderswap, who is designed to swap genders by turning people into members of the opposite sex, (men turn into women and vice versa if you do not get the definition), and lastly, Commando, aka Experiment 688, who is designed to infiltrate enemy locations and steal weaponry and anything of important value and who is the only experiment created solely by Leon Perriot; he also holds a key antagonistic role later in the fanfiction. Lady seems to have similar powers like Stitch, (her predecessor), and is also ten times more powerful than him. She also seems to have a perfect life: she is pursued romantically by at least a couple of male experiments: Byron, Sergeant, Commando, etc., and she is seen as the ultimate perfect genus of an experiment, probably even better than Stitch. **

**However, Lady has one, single, significant, potentially fatal flaw: she has a tendency to get into a blind rage. This blind rage can cause her to go on a wild rampage and destroy everything she sees on her path. She can also have the potential to leave an entire arena or big city in ruins. This will be explained further in the story as we go along. Also depicted in the story is the often difficult and volatile relationship between Lady and Dr. Clemenceau and of how they can sometimes clash with conflicts of interest. Even though it may seem that they have differing points of view, they have a simultaneous loving relationship with each other and would not bear to leave each other behind. **

**In the meantime, however, Leon Perriot is up to no good: he is jealous of Lady's close and loving relationship with Dr. Clemenceau and badly yearns to have the same status and prestige as his partner; he is also deeply in love with her and is willing to do whatever it took to make sure he sees his goals through to the end. In the meantime, Lady goes through a personal journey within herself and beyond the galaxy and stars to find out who she is and what her ultimate true place in the universe is. This story has jealousy, betrayal, adventure, suspense, love, tragedy, and drama intertwined all at once, and it is deeper and more insightful on an adult level than Lilo and Stitch. So I hope you enjoy reading it and depending on how busy I am in school it might take me a while to update. Plus, I have an operation coming in about two weeks so please pray for me and I'll elaborate more on my profile. **

**And please do not complain to me about paragraph length; I am editing as I go along and as I'm updating and I'll create the flow myself as I see fit. However, tips and advice about plot, story development, characters, etc., are always welcome. **

**Disclaimer: I must warn you beforehand, for this is a very important message: if you are not a fan of femslash please leave right now because at this point this story will develop into some sort of femslash and THERE WILL BE A FEMSLASH PAIRING!!!! I regret not being able to put that disclaimer in my summary. And I own none of the established characters from the Lilo and Stitch franchise except for Leon Perriot, Dr. Clemenceau, Lady Sedona, and of course the 1,780 experiments. I am writing this story because I want to write another Lilo and Stitch story and I've been a huge fan of the franchise for many years. And again, I apologize if this introduction is very long because I want to get some things off my chest and thank you for reading. Now let's move on with the tale.**

* * *

**Chapter 1: A Day In The Life Of Dr. Laverne Hortense Clemenceau (Prologue)**

The sound of a distant, low humming filled the laboratory in a planet far, far away millions of light years from Earth, as the room was replete with tranquil silence. Its walls were a tangible light blue with wide, open spaces, with the perimeters being at least 7 feet wide and 5 feet in length. The craftsmanship of the laboratory itself was very tacky and even gaudy in terms of color; its owner, Dr. Laverne Hortense Clemenceau was never a good interior designer. The cabinets, statues, antiques, dressers, small table and the bed itself were all built from marble concrete, with the exception of the black and white bed, which was decorated with lace-trimmed, satin pillows piled on top of downy feathered pillows and heavy comforters draped under light, thin bed sheets. However, the laboratory itself was divided by separate, distinct sections that were defined by its recognizable characteristics.

As typical of a mad scientist like herself, Dr. Clemenceau liked to keep her kitchen quarters separate so that the food emanating from it would not be mixed and therefore contaminated with any chemicals or products she may use during her experimentations. The kitchen quarters consisted of a small counter that was closed off from the main laboratory by an iron gate enclosure surrounding it. Beyond the laboratory was a gargantuan, enormous room that was composited of miles and miles of cages lined up behind the walls that served as the experiments' living quarters. There was also a large circle indented in the middle of the room that was designed as a battling arena for the experiments; there the 1,780 experiments that dwelled in the laboratory would work on their training for any fighting exercises that Dr. Clemenceau may assign them. The machines in the laboratory were mostly dark grey and silver colors and the tile floors that were prominent all over the laboratory are also light blue with white concrete walls.

Incidentally, the experiment room looked like a local dog kennel you could find on Earth; inside the dark grey cages were stuffed downy fur beds with golden plates implemented on the bottom edges of the door. The golden plates were inscribed with the experiments' names bestowed on them by Dr. Clemenceau and the number they were born with. The cages were 7 feet by feet and were big enough for only two experiments; they were also designed with iron bars. Each of the cages were situated on four shelves lined up in neat rows and also beyond the experiment room was a huge battle station that was reserved for training exercises to practice their skills and abilities and also prepare for any future conflict.

A few feet away from the closed kitchen, there was a doorway that led into Dr. Clemenceau's private chambers; this was where all of the furniture, antiques, statues, cabinets and her bed was located. The cabinets were leaning against either side of the wall along with other pieces of furniture, including dressers. On top of the dressers, there were cologne, perfumes, mascara, blush, lipstick, and other manifold beauty products scattered and cluttered all over the place and the statues dating from classical Greece and Rome were accumulated into their own corner and reached all the way to the end of the door. As for the bed, it was also a canopy bed that was shrouded by thin, silky, fleeting curtains and was situated in the back of the room in a vertical position. Dr. Clemenceau may not have shown too much care in the decoration of her laboratory, except where it concerned safety regulations, but when it came to her private chambers, she treated it as if it were her palace.

* * *

Normally, she would not have left her dressers in such disarray but today was urgent. Dr. Clemenceau had been alerted to a recent shooting death of a dark brown stray lioness that had been roaming through the planet for days and was carrying a newborn light brown/maroon cub by his nape. The lioness had been without food or water for many days and was weary and emaciated from her arduous, laborious trek from wherever she came from. Upon arriving on the outskirts of the city, she was surrounded by the galactic police and was being pursued all the way into the depths of town. The lioness attempted to evade the plasma blasts by veering right into the flooded streets and bounding around and through buildings.

As she flew out of the window from one of the buildings and stepped down on the wall before racing through the streets once more, a crowd of police then streamed out of the police station and then began to fire at her in a blaze of bullets. Several bullets nearly grazed her shoulder and crown as the lioness started to pace herself in slow motion and as if time had slowed down the bullets begin to whizz and dart past her as she dashed down the road ahead of her. Whirls of sirens were blaring all over lanes as the helicopter hovered above the teenage lioness and she found herself closed off by the rows of cars populating the streets and the galactic police and the police officers were now closing in on her. The lioness then sprinted in a sudden jolt of speed and then galloped on top of cars while trying not to trip on her own feet; she then sped off into a local junkyard.

As the lioness bolted into the open, vacant junkyard, there was silence permeating the air and darkness was settling onto the planet. The sun was about to sink down into the horizon and was about to disappear off the face of the earth. The lioness then set her young cub down on the ground and then nudged him to run off to hide in the nearby bushes as she faced off against the police. The cub then slowly treaded his way towards the bush and then glanced at his mother with a sad, melancholic, yet soft, sleepy look in his eyes as his tail was flickering in the sparse, shallow light and then emitted a weak meow before trotting over to the bush and slipping into the thick vegetation.

Just then a flash of light ricocheted on the lioness's vision as the helicopter and police finally caught up with her. The galactic police then flanked together in formation and then knelt down in their positions before aiming their plasma guns at her. The lioness's fur bristled in rage as she let out a fierce snarl with a stiffened lip and then at the top of her voice she resounded with a clear, raspy yowl. One of the members of the galactic police fired a warning shot over the lioness's head and maintained his position as she continued to growl at him as her fur frizzled with tension and her eyes glowed their magnificent maroon hue. The cub just lay there in wait, flicking his tail in a sideway motion, with his head cradled in his forearms, watching vigilantly and wondering if he and his mother were to get out of the city alive. He was a small cub, no more than a few days to weeks old, with a tiny dark nose and a light birthmark on his back and forehead; additionally, he also has light ruby eyes with tiny tufts of hair and a scruffy, shaggy little mane, much like his father's.

The cub then meowed and whimpered softly, with a pleading yet restrained murmur, hoping to get his mother's attention so they can escape the planet and get back on the road again to their awaited destination, but at the same time fearful of alerting the authorities to his presence and having the both of them subsequently captured and apprehended. "What is your name, princess?" one of the galactic policemen addressed her solemnly. "My name is Suzannah, Princess of Amalthea. I was the heiress to a throne long held by my father King Adolph Fonso and was exiled by my kingdom by a group of councilmen due to my sexual escapades. I also had a cub of my own whom I was forced to give up as a repercussion and punishment for my grisly misdeeds; he was supposed to be the chosen heir to two of the kingdoms he was born to inherit: The Rusty Plains and Amalthea. Mordecai, my last born being the offspring of Earl and I, is the only child I have left. You can take my life away from me but I will not allow you to harm my child!" the princess lioness bravely and audaciously informed the galactic police with a strong and fiery temperament that was immediately conspicuous.

"You will be immediately captured and consequently handed over to the Grand Council and will be addressed publically by the Grand Councilwoman; with this in mind, if you are found guilty of federal trespassing and disturbing the peace, you will be sentenced to several years in prison and you will be incarcerated in a pen somewhere in the galactic council building. If you cooperate with us and agree to follow and obey our every command, you will not need to fear for your life and rest assured your child will be kept in safe hands," the galactic policeman informed her calmly yet sternly while notifying her of the typical protocol and the legal ramifications she could face for her crimes. Suzannah then braced herself for another assault and yowled in defense as the galactic police reloaded their artillery and prepared for a potentially bloody shootout with the princess lioness.

Suzannah, in the meantime, was pacing around and circling in anticipation for the gruesome and violent brawl. At this point she had nothing to live for. Her life was essentially over; she had made a terrible mistake in bringing a child into the world for which she was not completely capable of caring for. She was about to leave her youngest son an orphan and the rest of her litter, who was in custody, or should be in custody, with their stepfather, with the exception of the one child she did give up, without a mother. But now she did not have much of a choice, or else was too stubborn to consider any other option. She was prepared to give her life for her child whatever means necessary and if she had to fight off the entire galactic police force with all her strength and lose her life in the process, then so be it.

Suzannah then crouched down in a ready position and without warning, lunged at the galactic police force, prompting them to fire a shower of plastic blasts right at her. Suzannah was immediately hit by four to five of those blasts but managed to harness one of the plasma blobs with one of her paws and fling it right at them with ease; the plasma blast then struck one of the galactic policemen in the face and he crumpled to the floor in a shout of pain.

As the hail of plasma came showering down on Suzannah, she then dashed through them as if they were quick puffs of air while deflecting them away from her with her long, luscious tail, even though the plasma pelts stung very much. Finally she was shot in the shoulder by a semi automatic rifle and was severely wounded enough to actually crumple and struggle on the floor; she then proceeded to attempt to regain her bearings as another swift shot to behind her ear nearly knocked her out cold and was making her drift into unconsciousness. Mordecai froze in his curled, fetal position, and stayed where he was as he viewed the brutal torture and beating of his mother in horror.

Finally the captain of the galactic police aimed his high powered semi automatic rifle and cocked it before bracing himself to deliver the fatal blow. Suzannah was drifting in and out of consciousness and she could hear echoes in her head and felt her body processes and her mind begin to shut down on her one by one. Finally the galactic police captain pointed his semi automatic rifle at her head and watched the princess lioness slowly die right before him before he notified her of a last request.

"Any last words, princess?" he hissed at her tauntingly, willing to slay and murder this nuisance of a creature already so they could summon her body to the Grand Councilwoman and have Dr. Clemenceau perform the autopsy, due to her credentials as a veterinarian. That way, they would not have to deal with a foreign creature, especially one who may or may not have been Earth born, (no normal lioness would have been able to valiantly fend off the blasts like that!), roaming aimlessly in the planet. The galactic police just did not care about anything anymore; the universe by now had been degraded and reduced to a state of utter chaos and where people could just simply pick off one another like birds of prey on a whim; in other words, it is now a dog eat dog world and the world presently revolves around the survival of the fittest.

As the galactic police captain pulls the trigger and the lioness princess utters an unrepeatable f-bomb under her breath, she feels a shot zip through her head as it squirms and torpedoes through her bulky, gigantic brain mass and blood began to discharge out of the exit wound as her body began its final shutdown. One by one, her organ systems began to fail on her and her consciousness was rapidly slipping away from her and her heart beat was fading fast. Her temperature cooled down into deathly levels and Suzannah felt the breath of life leaving her. As her body hit the ground, the blood spilled out of the hole in her head all the way onto the pavement like a gush of milk seeping out a spilled carton, (sorry to gross you out), and the animated, fiery gleam in her eyes begin to fade and die away like dimming light bulbs; finally, they begin to darken and lower its bright and brilliant hue and her maroon eyes begin to glaze over as the young lioness lay limp. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity the galactic police captain glanced over his watch and then strolled over to the lifeless body. He then grabbed her wrist and checked for her pulse to make sure she was dead and then marched over to his comrades. As the helicopter gradually fled the scene, the galactic police captain dialed up Dr. Clemenceau's phone number and promptly summoned her over to pick up the body.

* * *

Hours later, in the dark of night, as the winds began to pick up and unleash their powerful gusts; Dr. Clemenceau was sitting in her 1985 Chevy Model driving in the deserted, empty seats in a thick cloud of incense smoke. She was clad in a satin plaid buttoned down vest and wearing an elegant, rippled, black mink dress skirt and was wrapped in a heavy, overflowing, Siberian tiger mink coat and stole that was designed with bold zigzag stripe patterns imprinted on the attire; she was also wearing a rounded mink fur cap and her eyes were covered with thick rimmed transparent glasses that were shimmering and glowing in the bright, incandescent light. Dr. Clemenceau was a tall, slender, imposing woman with a square jaw and a narrow, craggy, and elongated face with a masculine physiognomy. She also had broad, rigid shoulders, a muscular and statuesque build, and her eyes were also of an indigo/silver tint. Underneath her resplendently opulent and gorgeous fur cap, she also possessed tufts of salt and pepper, short, wavy hair that had dark, bold, black bangs on the bottom edge of the back of her hair and also on her bangs.

Dr. Clemenceau was a 62-year-old Welshwoman who had emigrated from Wales as a young woman and was born in a low working class family. But when she was discovered to have an extremely high I.Q., she was granted access to attend Harvard University, which was located in New York City and graduated cum laude with honors with a degree in veterinary and forensic science. She also worked for several years in New York's foster care system as a social worker and volunteered as a part time prosecutor, albeit a very successful one. Dr. Clemenceau also studied extensively and enthusiastically to become a criminologist and even worked for a couple of precincts on a few occasions, but has not been offered any other jobs beyond that. Even though Dr. Clemenceau was very successful in forensic science and helped bring in numerous convictions in the process, she still felt that something was missing and she had not yet found her true calling.

She wanted to create something, and she felt herself connected with alien extraterrestrials somehow. She knew that her destiny was in some way tied with aliens, but she was not too certain as to how that was even possible. With all of her professional achievements and her intellectual pursuits, true love and personal happiness eluded her. Oh sure forensic science was as close as she could possibly get to achieve her ultimate goals in becoming as great as Jumba, who had been her most respected and beloved mentor for many years, before embarking on genetic engineering, and there were times where she wished she had become an genetic engineer first before becoming a forensic scientist, but thankfully that was not what really bothered her. What really bothered her was that true love seemed to elude her for as long as she can remember; from the time she was a little girl, she would saunter into passionate affairs with countless boys and men, but also had subtle, longing yearnings for women as well, even in college.

* * *

She remembered seeing one woman in particular while walking down one of the winding, long, labyrinth-like corridors on her way to class; the pristinely white concrete walls surrounding her were as lurid and divine as the heavens and there was a bright red spot approaching her on the horizon like a tiny dot approaching its target on the radar. Dr. Clemenceau was carrying a black satchel slung on her shoulder as she sauntered through the quiet and still hallways and she could hear the clamping and clacking of footsteps that seemed to intermingle with hers; she could tell that those were high heels. The two students were then approaching each other towards the center of the hallway and as the other woman came further into view Dr. Clemenceau was finally able to make her visage out. This particular woman was about 18, had just graduated from high school about four months before, and came from a small town in New Jersey.

She had dark cinnamon/auburn hair that was border lining more on brunette than redhead, a luscious and curvaceous figure, a fair and porcelain face, lush, red lips, catty, petite eyes, thin cheekbones, and also smooth, elongated hands, arms and legs. She also had sapphire/violet eyes and she even had a fluffy, grapefruit sized coif with a little curve to it and her wavy and long hair managed to curl nearly at the tips and concealed her ears nicely while wrapping itself around her head like an egg. Her name was Meghan Desimone of Newark, New Jersey. It wasn't long before the two women passed each other and Dr. Clemenceau felt herself blush as Meghan Desimone passed her by. She swerved around to gaze at her for a little while as Meghan walked on by and disappeared into the hallway. The young Welshwoman was not about to cut class in order to follow this woman, and she still had some way off to go to her next class, so she decided that she might as well go on her merry way and worry about the woman later.

Later on in American History class as Dr. Clemenceau was sitting down to take notes, she could not help but wonder who that woman was. She had such strikingly gorgeous, cat-like eyes and her whole physiognomy made her look like as if she were some cat creature in disguise. Her entire facial outline was cut into an angular, oval shape and her cheekbones were so thin and tiny it made her face look rather narrow and curved, almost like a small mask; Dr. Clemenceau could just swoon at the sight of her. Meghan was the strangest woman she had ever seen in her life, for she had such a mysterious allure about her that was akin to a nymph's and yet at the same time she seemed to project a rather shy, innocently naïve, youthful, spirit that seemed to have a mind of its own. Dr. Clemenceau then patiently pushed back these thoughts into the deepest boundaries of her mind as she continued with her studies and focused her attention to listen to the professor.

* * *

It was not until lunch that Dr. Clemenceau was leaning against the wall of one of the coed dorms smoking a Marlboro cigarette. She was inhaling a profuse cloud of smoke into her lungs and then exhaled slowly as she saw a stream of smoke weaving and meandering in midair and it split into multiple branches like roots from the ground. The brilliant and luminous sheen of the sun obstructed her view of the courtyard and everything that lingered in the horizon seemed to become engulfed and washed up in the bright, glaring sunlight. Dr. Clemenceau's eyes snapped shut tight in response to the touch of light streaming in her eyes and she shielded her face protectively to block it from its powerful and potentially dangerous rays. "Oh, so I see you're hanging out here?" a tomboyish, slightly growly, thick Northern accented voice suddenly cut in and then Dr. Clemenceau started from the interruption disrupting her quiet reveries and spun around to meet the speaker. It was Meghan, the new girl in the campus who she had run into in the hallway earlier that day.

"Hello, I've seen you around here before. My name is Meghan Desimone. I'm from Newark, New Jersey. What is yours?" Meghan greeted the young Welshwoman politely as she then shook her hand. Dr. Clemenceau was taken aback by her direct friendliness and her courtesy towards her and was also intrigued and enamored by her magnetic and charismatic personality. "Hello, I'm Laverne Hortense Clemenceau," Dr. Clemenceau grinned sheepishly as she shook her hand back. "Well, well, isn't that supposed to be a French name? You don't look very much like a Frenchwoman," Meghan observed wittily as she eyed the young Harvard graduate closely. "As a matter of fact, young lady, I am of French descent, due to my family bearing the name Clemenceau for generations and that there were some of my ancestors who came all the way from France to the island of Wales," Dr. Clemenceau snapped abrasively as she pointedly corrected her.

"You don't need to act so damn arrogant," Meghan reproved her sternly. "I only pointed that out because I figured you were either of Greek or Wales blood. And it appears that I was right 'bout you being of Wales blood." Dr. Clemenceau had to smile at that comment. The way Meghan said it, "Wales blood", sounded too much like "whales' blood", as if Dr. Clemenceau should be hailed from a family of whales. Dr. Clemenceau felt blessed to be a Welshwoman and was proud of her heritage.

"You're damn right about me being of Welsh blood. If I did not know better I would say you are from the South," she smirked in a smug and haughty manner while speaking in a tart and supercilious voice. "You're an arrogant little diva, aren't you?" Meghan growled in a defiant yet playful voice. "You think?" Dr. Clemenceau retorted back challengingly and then Meghan attempted to wrestle the young Welshwoman to the ground into a headlock and a half-nelson. Dr. Clemenceau twisted around to avoid getting herself trapped in Meghan's deadly grip with her back facing the ground and accidentally tripped her in her own feet. Meghan then lunged right for Dr. Clemenceau with a yell and then tumbled over her in a roll out through the turbid and soggy mud and soon the entire crowd flooded right into where the two women were wrestling and were viewing the spectacle.

"C'mon, Laverne! Wrestle that broad to the ground!" shouted one of the male college students, who was of course a college junior. "You can do it, kid!" another man bellowed at the top of his voice. Dr. Clemenceau attempted to kick Meghan in the head as they were squirming together in the ground splattered and drenched in mud and Meghan held her down in a tight headlock. A muck-ridden Dr. Clemenceau then bit Meghan on the arm and attempted to deliver a swift kick to Meghan's abdomen but then Meghan managed to clench her right ankle between her feet; she was clearly unfazed by the bite but it still hurt. Dr. Clemenceau then whacked Meghan in the stomach with her other foot and Meghan finally flew off her companion and took a tumble onto the soil before lying crumpled on the grass.

Dr. Clemenceau then got off the ground and brushed herself of any muck or soil that may have accumulated on her body and then glanced over her shoulder to see Meghan standing up to her feet bruised, battered and saturated with thick, slick, soppy mud coating her entire lean and slim frame and then charging right at her with a yell. But this time, Dr. Clemenceau was ready; the moment that Meghan flew at her with fists flying Dr. Clemenceau grappled her on the arms with her own two hands and spiraled towards the ground as she somersaulted her acquaintance through the air. The majority of the crowd began to screech and roar in jubilation but some of the girls felt that the fight was getting pointless. Finally the women were rolling over each other in successive tumbles and Meghan wrestled Dr. Clemenceau in a half-nelson and held her in a headlock. She then leaned into her ear and hissed in a whisper, "You think you're tough, Wales blood? Let's see you top this."

"Fine," Dr. Clemenceau growled in a lowered voice and then she flipped Meghan off her back in midair with her own brute strength while kicking her straight in the face. The moment Meghan plunged onto the ground and rolled over to a stop, Dr. Clemenceau rushed over to help her acquaintance and then Meghan staggered to her feet, breathless and exhausted, and gritted her teeth bitterly as she glared at her. "You got some nerve kicking the shit out of me like that," she riposted in an exasperated and indignant voice. "Looks like you are really tough when it comes to fighting; you were practically unstoppable," Dr. Clemenceau remarked while trying to catch her breath. "Let's get the hell out of here before the officials catch up to us," Meghan suggested while panting and then Dr. Clemenceau nodded affirmatively before gently taking her hand and the two of them walked together through the campus to have lunch together.

The entire student body felt cheated of a good fight between women and quietly dispersed back towards their places while grumbling and cursing under their breaths. "Goddamn that was some fight," one of the men commented to his friend. "Naah that was a shit fight, my friend. That New Jersey gal was tough. She would not stop fighting her opponent," the other man replied while shaking his head in disagreement. "That Clemenceau woman… she was certainly better at fighting verbally than physically. From the looks of it I was certain she was going to beat that Desimone woman. But the latter woman had the upper hand in this brawl," the young man observed and his friend listened attentively as he lit up a cigarette and took a drag.

"I see…" the man paused as he glanced at his friend smoking. "You know what? I was gonna tell ya something. I think there is some strange interaction between those two women. It was almost as if they had some sort of sexual attraction to one another," the other man theorized as he meditated in thought. His friend then started to break up laughing and shrieked in howls as he snatched his friend's cigarette and took a puff. "No, no, no! You can't be serious! That fucking smart ass broad in love with a naïve, small town girl? You got to be bullshitting me!" the man sniggered as he struggled to grasp the concept. "You never know. That woman sounds like a guy already, so I even wonder if she had some sex change or something," the other man began to muse in thought as he continued to discuss with him about Dr. Clemenceau's peculiar demeanor.

"How is that even possible? We don't have the available technology to switch genders anyhow. Maybe I could suggest it is all those cigarettes that make her voice especially husky," the other man replied to his companion in a bemused and perplexed tone. "Relax, buster, it ain't no sweat. I always thought she looked like some Greek or Italian woman. I could have sworn she was some Russian princess, with all the garbs and jewelry that she wears," the first man reassured him confidentially and calmly.

"Have you ever wanted to go out with her, Charlie?" his friend inquired curiously. "Yeah, but she turned me down. Near did break my heart. That is surely a high-strung woman. She has a certain mystique to her and an element of regal quality and elegance; it drives me crazy! And she also seems to project a certain kind of loneliness and troubled mien to me at least, as if there was something at the back of her mind that was bothering her. I wonder what kind of bitter and cold-hearted hand she has been dealt with in life," Charlie sighed as he reflected on the perception that he had on Dr. Clemenceau and of how her demeanor and deportment held a fascinating and bewitching spell on him. "You know what, Charlie? You should go talk to her. You seem to know her lots, so why don't you go talk to her in her dorm?" Charlie's friend finally advised and urged him strongly.

"You think so, Joey?" Charlie quipped anxiously and in a vexed manner. "Why not? She's a good gal; she has her faults, but she's a good gal. Go on and talk to her," Joey shrugged and then patted him on the shoulder encouragingly as he spoke. Charlie then exhaled through his nose and nodded in agreement. He then took another drag and glanced at his friend momentarily before walking away from him. By now lunch was over and everyone was supposed to be in class, so he figured after classes had concluded he would go up to Dr. Clemenceau's room in the coed dorm and speak to her.

* * *

It was sometime after 10:00 and Dr. Clemenceau was taking a shower and then shut off the faucet to dry up and put on a purple robe. She then stepped out of the shower and wrapped herself with the white towel upon hearing a knock on the door and then lifted her satchel off the wooden oak hamper as a precaution as she stepped out into the room. Upon approaching the door, she then peeked into the peephole and saw Charlie standing there with flowers. Jesus Christ… was Dr. Clemenceau's thought as she slowly left the door slightly ajar and poked her head through the gap between the door frame and the door itself. "What are you doing here, Charlie? I thought I told you to get lost! I don't want to go out with you!" she sneered upon seeing him.

"I apologize, Laverne; I had no idea you were taking a shower," Charlie replied, abashed. "Now you do. Well, there is no need to shoo you out now, seeing that you need something important to discuss with me. Please come in and please stay in the bedroom while I go and change into my nightgown," Dr. Clemenceau growled at him reproachfully while biding him come into her room and issuing him an order to stay in the bedroom. Dr. Clemenceau then moved out of the way to let Charlie enter the room and then she scuttled away to her closet to fetch her purple nightgown and soon whisked away into the bathroom. Charlie then placed the flowers into an empty vase and then paced to the bed to sit down on its edge and wait while he smoked another cigarette. Finally Dr. Clemenceau emerged from the bathroom with ruffled, frizzy hair and a long, streaming, satin, purple nightgown flowing on her body and she had a sour expression on her face. Charlie was about to laugh.

"You look mighty devilish, Laverne. I could growl just by looking at you," he chuckled as Dr. Clemenceau stole over to the bed and sat down next to him, her floppy and wavy curls of hair hanging down on her face. "What do you want, Charlie? I already said I don't want to date you. Why are you being so persistent?" Dr. Clemenceau grumbled and griped irritably as she stared down on the ground with a solemn expression. "What's bothering you, honey? You seem so sad and depressed. Is that New Jersey girl bothering you?" Charlie persisted with his questioning. "I guess so; I really like her Charlie. She's the most mesmerizing woman I've met in my entire life. I guess you can say I'm in love with her. But she doesn't want to stay with me, not after I've done to her. I really scared her away, Charlie. What the hell am I supposed to do?" Dr. Clemenceau bemoaned her frustrations and fears to Charlie, after which he took her hand and held it. "Tell me what happened," he instructed her calmly.

"Well, Meghan and I were in my room and she was taking a shower. I was waiting for her to come sit with me and then she came out of the bedroom wearing a red dress. She then sat down next to me and I started caressing her on the hair. Meghan just looked away from me as if she was embarrassed and then smiled at me sweetly. I was still wearing the ruffled, collared, cotton, turtleneck blouse and the plaid black leather skirt along with the black dance shoes and a plaid, rhinestone, black vest that I wore earlier that day and my hair was still disheveled from the fight we had during lunchtime."

"I have never felt this attracted to anyone in my life and I found myself enchanted and bewitched by her seductive eyes and her coy, demure smile. I can't tell you how much I wanted to touch her, hold her, and kiss her. I then tentatively held her hand and smiled grimly and I looked into her eyes. Meghan then took me into her arms and began to rock me back and forth as I lay with her. 'You have pretty eyes, Laverne,' Meghan murmured in a whisper."

"'So do you,' I simpered quietly. I did not know quite what to say to her. In a way I was so nervous and I was still blotched and dripping with mud and felt completely dirty; should I just go all the way and kiss her or should I take things slow? I then decided that I might as well give her a little kiss and if she acquiesces the gesture and permits me to continue then I would go slowly on her. Slowly but surely I then motioned towards her and gave her a light peck in the lips with a hesitant and restrained posture and I glanced at her to examine her reaction."

"Meghan was rendered speechless and surprised at what had just happened and with an abashed and flustered look on her face she then quickly got up to rush out of my room. 'Wait a minute, where are you going?' I accosted her in a panicky and horror-stricken voice as she sauntered to the doorstep and glanced over her shoulder. 'I'm sorry, Laverne, but the problem is we have just met and I don't think I'm ready for this kind of level in a relationship yet. I think it would be best for us to just be friends for now,' Meghan sighed apologetically as she leaned against the doorway with a forlorn and rueful expression on her visage and the moment she saw my crestfallen and disenchanted face she strolled over to the bed and then hugged me tightly. 'Don't sweat it, Laverne. You may be a tough and headstrong woman on the outside, but on the inside your heart is soft and made of mush.'"

"'I don't necessarily mean you don't have some guts every now and then and you are a very strong and independent woman, and I appreciate that. But I never really anticipated you becoming a soft touch; Laverne, I have never met such a strong-minded and fiery woman who can also have a vulnerable and tender heart; this heart of yours could be easily broken and thrown away like trash and I don't want to be the person to emotionally destroy you. You may be a strong-willed and pretentious woman who projects extreme arrogance and pride but that does not justify you being hurt and broken-hearted in the process. I'll come visit you one day and if anytime I want to have an affair with you I would be the one to approach you first. But right now your passionate and amorous feelings for me are just too overwhelming to handle and I'm not sure if I want to carry on a torrid affair with an upperclassman.'"

"'If it makes you feel any better I'll return the gesture but for now I'm keeping relations between us simple and platonic,' Meghan reassured me compassionately and mercifully as she continued to cuddle me tightly in her arms and was rocking me to sleep. By now I was overcome with tears and I was trembling and jerking with quiet, sudden sobs. Meghan then lifted up my face and peered into her tear-stricken face before kissing me softly and tenderly in the lips. I then collapsed on the bed sprawled facedown as I continued to wail and weep heavily and then Meghan nuzzled me on the back of my neck and then she just soundlessly whisked out of the room without another word. I just cried and shrieked in wails for another hour and a half until my voice grew hoarse and finally after I have spent all of my tears I got up and went to take a shower."

"I have never been this humiliated and ashamed in my life. How could I delude myself into taking advantage of another human being, especially someone who was as naïve as she was? I wasn't that cruel, was I? I guess I was greatly ashamed of having put myself in this type of situation and I was awfully embarrassed of having revealed my intimate feelings to someone I barely knew. I can't help being the way I am. I'm a human being, damn it," Dr. Clemenceau detailed an elaborate, intricately poignant and emotional account of what went on between her and Meghan in the dorm room.

Charlie was just silent and speechless; he was spellbound and personally moved by Dr. Clemenceau's intimate and lurid tale of lesbian love and woes. He then directed Dr. Clemenceau's body with his hand over to his shoulder and have her lean over him, her head snuggling in his neck. "You know what, Laverne? You are too good for this kind of crap. Now I'm not saying that you shouldn't be going around pursuing women, but you should not dwell on this incident. Maybe this Meghan girl is not the one for you. You'll find someone, believe me; if you want to find somebody to spend the night with, come to me and I'll take care of you."

"Like I said, you're too good for that shit, Vernie. Look, I know you don't want to date me but if you want to come over to my dorm room, go right ahead and just knock on the door," he attempted to console and soothe her as Dr. Clemenceau was leaning slumped on his left shoulder and listened placidly as he spoke softly to her. Dr. Clemenceau then finally sat up from where she was leaning and smiled at him. "Thank you so much, Charlie but I must decline your offer for now. I would rather be alone tonight to think some things out but I appreciate your willingness to help," Dr. Clemenceau explicated to Charlie before turning down his offer and then kissed him lightly on the cheek, after which she led him straight to the door.

Charlie then brushed her hair gently and then kissed her hand as he knelt down in a gesture of reverence. "Thank you for stopping by again, Charlie. You have been so kind to me, unlike all of the other assholes I have seen in college. If you want to spend the night with me at my dorm room that is up to you," Dr. Clemenceau expressed her gratitude to Charlie with a simple nod of her head. Charlie then kissed Dr. Clemenceau on the cheek before hugging her and then walks out of the room with a soft smile on his face. Dr. Clemenceau then ruffled her hair in order to even it a little bit and then slipped right into her bed in order to get to sleep. She then tugged on the golden string of an overhead lamp in order to turn out the lights and once the room settled into darkness lay on her right side in order to head to sleep.

* * *

The flashback soon faded from view as Dr. Clemenceau finally stopped right in front of the alleyway where Suzannah had been shot and shut off the engine with a twist of the key. As soon as she yanked the keys outs of its keyhole and unlocked the driver's door beside her, she then swung it wide open and after sticking her left foot out in the open emerged from the Chevy Model and then slowly rose to her feet in clear view of the galactic police force.

A translucent gleam radiated off her transparent glasses that soon darkened her eyes and the graying white of the thin stream of incense smoke soon floated right into the bright, glaring light reflecting off the streetlights and blended with it. She then turned her attention to the captain of the galactic police force and glared at him with sharp disapproval and a pursued frown. "So you two scumbags have the damn nerve to shoot down an innocent lioness?" she interrogated them briskly and indignantly as she continued to glower right at their direction and she was tapping the tip of her long, skinny incense cigarette in an impatient and irritated manner and little drops of ash were dripping and plopping down to the ground as she spoke.

"You don't understand, my lady. We have to take out that trespasser. She was going to endanger the entire order of society with her foreign ways," the galactic police captain attempted to explain to the Welsh forensic scientist calmly yet nervously but he knew very well she would not buy that excuse. "Are you too corrupt for your own good, officer? How long ago have you shot this poor creature?" Dr. Clemenceau scoffed disdainfully with a grim and austere frown as she whipped out a small notepad from her pocket and a pen from her breast pocket and began to scribble down notes while the galactic police captain commenced to recount his account of what happened in the alleyway.

"Well, apparently this lioness has been shot about an hour and a half ago and her name is Princess Suzannah of Amalthea. She claims to have been banished from her planet due to some sexual transgressions and also noted that she had given up one of her offspring for adoption," the galactic police captain elucidated in great detail as he observed Dr. Clemenceau take notes. Dr. Clemenceau then raised her eyebrow and inquired curiously, "A princess? Did you say that she was a princess? Has she ever specified the name of the cub that she gave away?" "Nope, she never mentioned the name of the cub that she gave up; however, she did arrive with another cub of her own. She called him Mordecai," the galactic police captain answered with a tart and crisp reply before Dr. Clemenceau immediately began to scourge the area for the lost cub.

Upon witnessing this, the galactic police captain added admonishingly, "If you want to look for him that's fine with me but I figure he probably ran away the moment he saw his mother shot down in a hail of bullets." But Dr. Clemenceau did not heed his words; she then spotted the bush that Mordecai had been hiding in and slowly got down on her knees and quietly and calmly crawled closer to it. She then sat up with her upper body upright and then peered through the bushes while unveiling the lush layers of leaves wide open like a book and that was where she finally found the cub, trembling, whimpering and practically on the brink of tears. "Oh you poor little boy. I am so sorry you lost your mother. Really I am," Dr. Clemenceau murmured softly to the young cub as Mordecai began to gasp and choke in sobs. His face was buried in his arms and was partially shielded and he was lying flat on his left side with his limp tail swishing to and fro on the concrete pavement.

"Now don't you worry about a thing. I'm going to take you home and you're going to stay with me for a while," Dr. Clemenceau whispered softly and lovingly and finally curiosity stirred in Mordecai's soul and he began to question her. "What is your name?" he mewed in a timid and quiet voice. "I'm Dr. Laverne Hortense Clemenceau, the Galactic Council's most renowned and esteemed forensic and genetic scientist. I am also a veterinarian, social worker, and prosecutor, and I was even a criminologist for a little while," Dr. Clemenceau formally introduced herself as the still cub gazed and peered right into her looming and tall shadow that slightly concealed her face and hovered over him as rays of light lit up his small and dark shelter. "My name's Mordecai," he returned with a reply. "I know; the bastard who shot your mother told me that," Dr. Clemenceau affirmed gravely as Mordecai shuddered and quivered at the mere mention of him.

Dr. Clemenceau saw him shake in terror and then cast her firm and solemn eyes down at him, sympathizing with his plight yet simultaneously scolding him for displaying fear. "Now cut that out. You're a big boy now. You cannot be scared of everything around you. You are an orphan and you must learn how to fend for yourself. However, that does not necessarily mean that I'm not responsible for you as well," Dr. Clemenceau chided and reproved him sharply yet compassionately while Mordecai continued to tremble and shake before her.

"Now I know you're scared to be all by yourself and it's a big world out there but you must learn how to be brave. Listen to me; I'm going to wheel your mother's body into the lab once I take you back to my lair and I am going to autopsy her corpse to determine her age and the cause and manner of her death and attempt to come up with some kind of profile for her if possible; later on, I'll try to get a hold of her medical and personal records in order to look into her history. In the meantime you will be dwelling among my experiments," Dr. Clemenceau ejaculated and explicated her sympathies and commiserated with the young lion but at the same time urged him to not show his fear in front of the corrupt galactic police and anyone else that may mean harm to him.

"Believe me, if your enemies were to sense your fear and trepidation, they will recognize you as being vulnerable and they will seek this as an opportunity to attack and hurt you, and you do not want that. Come along, my little Mordecai, and let's get the hell out of this godforsaken place." She then picked up Mordecai by the arms and lifted him out of the bushes before getting a closer inspection of him, with his whippy, fluffy tufts of hair and his brilliant, scarlet eyes, along with his scruffy mane.

"You look just like your mother; she is blessed to have a beautiful boy like you," she proclaimed somberly before smiling at him with her quiet lips. Mordecai then grinned for a brief moment before flicking her on the nose with his tongue. Dr. Clemenceau nearly sneezed at the touch but found herself beaming right at him. "I've always wanted a child. Even when I was at Harvard I wanted to become a mother. I just wished that I had a chance to raise one. And now I found you," she whispered in a low voice as she gazed at him with a wide-eyed expression and Mordecai found himself melting into her smile. "Well, Doctor, are you going to transport the body to the lab presently or are you going to google at the wretched orphan like he's some prize?" the galactic police captain cut in brusquely and briskly while gesturing towards the lifeless body and Dr. Clemenceau suddenly scowled and glared at the man while finding herself in the throes of rage.

"Get the hell out. Get the hell out of this hellhole before I report you to the Grand Councilwoman and have you all arrested and tried for murder," she snarled at him in an incensed and infuriated voice and then quickly stalked over to the body before walking over to the car and activating the trunk by pushing one of the buttons of the key. As soon as the trunk flung open, Dr. Clemenceau raced to it and hauled out a stretcher to convey the body and then scooped up the corpse in her arms in one heave as Mordecai leapt out of her arms and bounded onto the top of the car. Dr. Clemenceau then carried the limp body over to the stretcher and placed it on top of it before pacing over to the trunk and then slammed down shut and subsequently locking it with the press of the key. She then graced over to the driver's door and then inserted the key into the hole and then turned it to unlock it. Dr. Clemenceau then went to the back of the car and then opened it; she then carted the body in front of the doorway and then pushed the wheels upward in order to push the cart inside the vehicle; she then gently slid the cart into the back of the car and closed the door shut.

She then got into the driver's seat and then slammed the door shut. After locking the door, she then inserted the key into the keyhole and then ignited the engine. The car's engine then kicked off with a deep, rumbling roar and then Dr. Clemenceau backed out of the alley as she focused on ignoring the galactic police force and before she drove off into the street she then glanced over at the galactic police captain and took a few moments to glare at him disapprovingly and angrily with a stiffened lip; she then sped off into oncoming traffic as the tires emitted a shrill screech at the burst of speed. "Masculine bitch!" the galactic police captain hollered at her as Dr. Clemenceau vanished into the crowd of cars. Dr. Clemenceau then continued to smoke the incense cigarette as she tried to concrete on the road before her and then she heard a soft thud.

* * *

At the next stop light she then stopped where she was and swerved around to see who had dropped into her car; it was none other than Mordecai, who was now sprawled on the back seat of the car on top of his mother's body. "Mordecai, get off your mother's body this instant! I don't want your DNA contaminated with hers! Get over here!" Dr. Clemenceau yelled sharply and fiercely as she beckoned him to sit with her on the passenger seat. Mordecai then jumped off his mother's dead corpse and then sauntered over to the seat before clambering on top of it and Dr. Clemenceau slapped a seat belt on him. She then resumed her position and looked straight ahead. "I'm sorry," Mordecai suddenly spoke up and then Dr. Clemenceau glanced around to look at him.

"Hmm?" was her answer as she anticipated what he had to say next. "I mean, you're really nice and all, and I really like you. You're not like the rest of the people out here," Mordecai continued to explain as he blathered and rambled on nervously before he felt Dr. Clemenceau's soft, gentle, gnarled hand touch his shoulder and he stopped short midsentence. "It's okay. I should not have yelled at you. I was angry at the people that killed your mother. I mean, we live in such a rough economy right now that people are so desperate to do anything for money, even killing someone based on vague pretenses," Dr. Clemenceau sighed as she tried to explain to Mordecai the current situation that the planet now lived in. The two then sat there in silence before Mordecai piped in, "You look really pretty, Dr. Clemenceau." "Why thank you. I try to live my age gracefully as much as I can and also keep my hygiene and appearance up," Dr. Clemenceau accepted his compliment graciously with so much class and elegance and then she peered at him inquisitively.

"You really are a smart boy; even at a young age you are completely aware of your surroundings," she observed as she studied his physiognomy closely. "I got that from my momma. She also says that my older brother, who was born before me, was also an intelligent and brilliant boy too, just by looking at his eyes. Momma never talked about him very much; every time I would ask her about him she would just clam up and not say anything," Mordecai quickly prattled and babbled on nervously and agitatedly as he averted his gaze from her and stared right ahead at the front window. "Huh, I never knew that. Your mother must have been a very perceptive woman," Dr. Clemenceau remarked wittily. "I guess so too," Mordecai added with a flash of a smile. "Come on, you stupid, damn traffic, move!" Dr. Clemenceau growled under her breath as she beeped her horn furiously in an attempt to get the traffic moving.

However, the cars just sat there motionlessly and the stretch of traffic continued to spread all the way into the expressway. "Damn it!" Dr. Clemenceau swore under her breath and banged the horn with her fist in a fit of temper and Mordecai could hear her labored and heavy breathing as her eyes radiated and glistened a fiery, red-hot glow and her hands gripped tightly on the wheel. Her face was scrunched up tightly as her muscles begin to tense up and tighten rigidly and her entire body began to shake tremulously with her teeth gritted tightly. "Are you all right, Dr. Clemenceau?" Mordecai squeaked timidly and he heard a low growl emit from the Welsh scientist's throat and then he saw her turn her head around and glare at him. "You ask too many questions, young one. Why don't you just leave me in peace?" she growled at him petulantly and then swerved away from him to concentrate on the road.

"What are the experiments like, Dr. Clemenceau?" Mordecai ventured further and then Dr. Clemenceau turned her head around once more to peer curiously at the newborn cub. "Well, I must say they all have different personalities of their own; they are very independent-minded individuals who are capable of caring for themselves and who are like my children to me. They are basically the only family that I have left and not only are they like my children, but they are my children to say the least. Some of them are very stubborn, aggressive, rash and determined, others are noble and valiant, and some are just sweet, benevolent and vulnerable. There are experiments who are outright wicked bastards and scumbags and other experiments of mine are lovely sweethearts."

"They can be occasionally difficult to live with but I love them just the same," she sighed as she went on to describe the experiments' various personalities and how even though they were born from the same creator they were vastly different from one another. "I think it is a lot better if you saw the experiments for yourself for I do not know any other way to describe them. Besides, seeing is believing if I do say so myself." "Yes, ma'am," Mordecai acquiesced readily and then Dr. Clemenceau patted his right paw while glancing down at him with a wry, thin, smile. "Hey, let's listen to some music!" Mordecai exclaimed suddenly and then pushed the button on the radio and then Dr. Clemenceau covered her ears in annoyance as a hip hop song blared loudly in the car. "Turn that damn thing off!" Dr. Clemenceau screamed in ire exasperation at the top of her voice and then Mordecai, with a sheepish, laughing and slightly abashed grin, changed the channel with the flick of a switch and then they were in a 70s and 80s channel.

"Oh, thank God," Dr. Clemenceau breathed in a sigh of relief and then she reclined her seat backwards by pushing down on a lever attached on its right side before lying on her back and closing her eyes. Mordecai then observed her sleeping as he sat in his chair and then stared out into the window to see if the traffic would finally disperse and the pair could be on their way. Gradually he heard the loud, deep snore issuing from the female Welsh scientist after an hour and a half of keeping a vigil over her and then he vaulted onto her bosom and snuggled in her chest as he curled into a ball and finally rested his tiny head onto his paws and closed his eyes to go to sleep. The planet had now descended into darkness as nightfall had settled into the expressway in a comprehensive blanket and the low, rumbling peals of thunder could be heard roaring into the night. The radio glistened and radiated with its light green, alien-like glow and a song called, "Nothing's Going To Change My Love For You" started to play amidst the gentle, drumming pelting of the rain that sprinkled on the windows' gleaming and sparkling surfaces.

Finally Mordecai awoke from his slumber and then bounded on the steering wheel and with his diminutive paws started to jog and roll on his feet as he steered and maneuvered the 1985 Chevy Model right through the light traffic, which was now cruising and driving quietly through the streets. Mordecai then gazed through the window as he attempted to control the vehicle with his puny strength and his wobbly gait and to his horror and surprise he noticed a white dragon gliding and weaving motionlessly through the air like a stream of smoke willowing from an incense cigarette, a lurid and incandescent sight shimmering and scorching in the air. The dragon then glanced over her shoulder and snarled at the Chevy Model that was trailing her, and then turned back to the direction that she was facing and ignored the vehicle. Mordecai then pounced on Dr. Clemenceau and shook her shoulder in an attempt to awake her and then tugged on her right ear. "Wake up, Dr. Clemenceau, wake up! I see a dragon flying on the horizon!" he cried as he urgently tugged on her right ear and the old woman stirred from her sleep and then sat up in stupefied disbelief as she gawked at the sight that lay before her.

"Jesus Christ that's Magenta! She was my very first experiment that I created while I was at Harvard! She must have sensed that I was heading home and volunteered to lead the way back to my laboratory. That girl was always a stubborn and hostile one; she would not have normally elected to take on such an expedition," Dr. Clemenceau cried in a mortified and bewildered voice as she continued to stare motionlessly at Magenta while she proceeded her flight back to the laboratory, ignoring her two companions all the way. "She looks like an ugly, fierce dragon, not to mention hideous!" Mordecai whispered in a low voice as he studied Magenta's fearsome and monstrous physiognomy. "Well, she was the first dragon-like experiment that I have created. She is my eldest of all my other experiments," Dr. Clemenceau explained calmly as she seized control of the vehicle and bid Mordecai to sit down at his seat once more, at which the cub did. "Now when we get to the lab I would like for you to be on your best behavior. You are not to disturb me when I am at my work and you are not to touch any of my equipment, machinery, DNA samples or any specimen I might have in my work space."

"You are to remain with my experiments and you shall not wander beyond the experiment room. It is no place for a young cub like you. Now, you must mind my experiments and stay away from the ones that mean you harm. Not all of them have good intentions. This goes for Magenta too; she is a very treacherous and insidious monster with a mysterious and inscrutable demeanor, deadly strength and malicious cunning," Dr. Clemenceau then handed down instructions and rules for Mordecai to follow and warned him about being near certain experiments. "Got it," Mordecai affirmed resolutely. Dr. Clemenceau then nodded at him and switched her focus back to her driving. For the rest of the ride, the two companions remained silent while following Magenta's trail as the gigantic dragon led them through the stormy and tumultuous rain in the darkened streets.

* * *

It was still pouring hard by the time Dr. Clemenceau finally stopped in front of her house. She was cloaked in her heavy raincoat and was huddling young Mordecai deep within her chest. Magenta then quickly hovered to the slippery, wet ground and once she touched the pavement a swirl of white energy engulfed her and then it dissipated to reveal a white, female, dragon-like experiment. Mordecai shuddered in horror upon viewing her while sheltered snugly warm in Dr. Clemenceau's raincoat, and Magenta detected from the corner of her eye a slight movement underneath Dr. Clemenceau's raincoat and immediately lunged for her creator. Before Dr. Clemenceau could protest, Magenta snatched Mordecai from her bosom and then dangled him over her jaws with the intent to eat him alive.

Mordecai began to scream at the top of his lungs and was wriggling and struggling to break free from Magenta's clutches. "Dr. Clemenceau, help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" he cried in a frightened and frantic voice. Suddenly an indigo/sapphire experiment and a saffron/tan experiment rushed out of the house and tackled Magenta in an effort to wrest Mordecai away from her. "Get your bloody hands off that boy!" a French accented voice could be heard. "Let go of him, Magenta!" another female voice accompanied her.

The two experiments then wrestled Magenta to the ground and the indigo/sapphire experiment began to assault and buffet her with swipes and slashes; the saffron and tan experiment, however, was busy delivering swift kicks and punches right at Magenta's face and was being scalded and incinerated by Magenta's pyrokinetic energy blasts as Magenta directed them right at her. Finally the sapphire/indigo experiment jabbed right into Magenta's jaw with a swift kick and Magenta doubled over from the impact and was sent reeling to the ground, releasing her grip on Mordecai in the process. Mordecai then tumbled onto the grass and then the sapphire/indigo experiment grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and then trotted over to the doorstep before she proceeded to curl up into a ball and lie on her stomach to lick the dirt and soil off him as if she were a mother dog. Magenta scowled ferociously and trembled with a fierce anger as she rolled up her arms like she was rolling up imaginary sleeves and curled up her fists in preparation to fight her two sisters. "Agata menena crestar!" she snarled and then barreled right at the sapphire/indigo experiment.

"All right; that's it! Hold it right there, Magenta! Angie, Suzanne, stop fighting right this instant!" Dr. Clemenceau waved her arms in a gesture of a time out as she raced to Magenta and quickly snatched her by her nape before hauling her into the laboratory. Angie, who was the saffron/tan experiment, and Suzanne, who was the sapphire/indigo experiment, focused their attention at the door as it automatically opened up to bid Dr. Clemenceau to enter her abode. "You are a disgraceful experiment! How dare you try to eat an orphaned newborn cub, especially one that I'm supposed to be in charge of?" Dr. Clemenceau screamed and shouted at the top of her lungs as she carried Magenta through her laboratory while holding a tight grip on her nape and her booming, loud voice could be heard echoing all over the laboratory. Some of the experiments were seen huddling and cowering behind furniture such as tables and chairs, including an electric blue/bondi blue female experiment, who was curled up behind one of the legs of the table and was timidly peeking from underneath as she witnessed her creator's rather embarrassing and outrageous tirade. Finally the old woman stalked over into the experiment room and then went over to Magenta's cage, which was located all the way to the back of the kennel, just in front of the door to the experiment battle arena in a little corner.

She then unlocked the cage by opening up the lock and then propping up the door; Dr. Clemenceau then placed Magenta into the cage and slammed the door shut while closing up the lock. She then knelt down to Magenta's face level and glared at her with a somber expression. "Now listen to me. If you cannot control yourself and continue to wreak havoc in my laboratory by terrorizing my experiments I will have to put you in seclusion by locking you up in your own cage. You and all of the other 1,780 experiments in this lab are response for looking after and watching over poor Mordecai."

"He has just lost his mother and I am in charge of autopsying her body to determine the cause of her death and then I will make funeral arrangements. In the meantime I will also use her soul with the soul harnessing device to bring in life into my latest experiment. She will be the most advanced prototype of Experiment 626 that was ever created, even surpassing him! Now, the fact that I'm disciplining you does not necessary me I don't love you; as a matter of fact, I actually do love you, for you were my first experiment ever created and I remember crying the day that you were born. You're my precious little girl and I would not want you to get hurt."

"However, you must learn how to share with your siblings because I cannot always be around to give you my undivided attention; it's impossible, unless I can get Leon to babysit some of them. Since you're my eldest, you are always the one who craves a lot of attention. Now, I'm going to leave you here in this cage and you need to think about what you have done. When you're ready to behave and socialize properly amongst your brethren, I will let you out in due time. When it comes to safety you are my top priority," Dr. Clemenceau then explicated and discussed with Magenta in depth about her concern and love for her along with her behavior and attitude towards others and even though she may be one of her most difficult experiments to handle, she still loves her.

The Welsh forensic scientist then proceeded to slip her hand through the iron bars and started to scratch and rub her little one's tummy, which then Magenta began to purr and growl contently in response. Her ears flickered slightly in tandem and she started to wiggle her feet in satisfaction as she began to emit low growls.

* * *

Magenta then suddenly stood up rigidly and growled threateningly upon eyeing Suzanne approaching her mistress. Suzanne was cool and tranquil in her demeanor and was still holding little Mordecai by the scruff of the neck with her jaws, and Dr. Clemenceau swiftly turned around to meet her experiment face to face and smiled with a quiet nod. Suzanne was a diminutive, wizened experiment with ruby/garnet orb-shaped eyes and also had a rounded and oval face.

In addition Suzanne possessed tiny, pointy monkey-like ears, two antennae, four arms, spikes, and scruffy, ruffled, white hair and resembled an old woman, most notably Suzanne Flon. She is also known as Experiment 1918, and she is designed to spy on prominent public figures, government officials, famous people and other persons of great eminence and acquire classified information that includes documents, templates, memos, surveillance videos, etc. Suzanne also uses this information for blackmail, treason, breaking security breaches and to assist people in completing missions and tasks. She also has developed good skills for using weapons but is not as proficient as Commando, aka Experiment 688, which is considered one of her main weaknesses.

Besides being the mistress of disguise and capable of impersonating anyone to gather and collect vital information, she can also use her cunning and deception to manipulate people into doing what she wants, including emotional blackmail. Despite of her less than excellent skill in weaponry, she is still capable of using just about every type of gadget available and is very intelligent, making her comparable to the famous secret spy James Bond.

Magenta, however, was starkly different in contrast to her sister; she is a dragon-like experiment with long, flimsy, thin ears, a streamlined, rugged and craggy face, a slender and muscular figure, four arms, pointy, dragon-like spikes running down her back, two antennae, and also ruby/magenta eyes with a rusty underbelly, earning her name. Additionally she also has retractable small wings and spiky frills circling her neck along with a soft, fluffy Mohawk and a red scar running across her right eye that is as bright as blood. Most of the experiments under Dr. Clemenceau's authority are able to retract their arms and antennae into their bodies and appear normal, but some of them are designed in such a way that they don't have to.

Suzanne's teeth then clenched tighter on Mordecai's scruff and her eyes began to glisten and sparkle with a luminous and brilliant sheen; her ears drooped in a flash and her lips then contorted to a sneer. Magenta then flailed and banged her fists wildly on the cage door and flung curses at Suzanne before Dr. Clemenceau stomped over to her and whacked her cage repeatedly with a newspaper in an attempt to shush her. "Quiet!" she hissed and then Magenta sulked and retreated into the dark corners of her cage as her ears fell and hung low to the sides of her face and she shuffled into the darkness before disappearing from sight.

After peering into her glowing, translucent eyes that were illuminating in the dreary shadows, Dr. Clemenceau gave out an exasperated sigh and then ambled over to Suzanne before petting her hair. "My dear, dear Suzanne, your eldest sister Magenta appears to have jealousy issues concerning you and your brethren. She has never gotten used to being the eldest sibling of 1,780 experiments. I guess despite of our vast differences and bitter disagreements, she has somehow managed to form some sort of attachment to me and has even grown to love me. She sees me as her only friend and regards me as her one and only mother, which I think is why she is reluctant to share me with anyone, even Leon."

"Now, I'm putting you in charge of Mordecai, since you're doing a good job of keeping an eye on him, and make sure that he does not get into harm's way. You know how some of your siblings are, especially your brothers Sergeant, Shadowboxer and Byron. If you must know I should be on my way to the lab where I will conduct an extensive autopsy of Mordecai's mother's Suzannah; after I conclude the autopsy, I will find a proper way to dispose of the body," Dr. Clemenceau confided her suspicions and thoughts to Suzanne before handing her instructions on the care and welfare of the cub and subsequently informing her of her impending autopsy. She then scribbled down something on a notepad and tore off a piece of the notepad paper before yielding it over to Suzanne. Suzanne then studied the note and a crease formed and lined on her eyebrows as a frown materialized on her visage; the note read, "Buy Mordecai some formula at the local supermarket; he may get hungry later on." "Why must I go and get some formula at the supermarket? Can't I feed him myself?" Suzanne importuned her mistress questioningly before Dr. Clemenceau gazed at her solemnly and placed her hand on her shoulder.

"Look, Suzanne, I think it is best for Mordecai to be fed formulas; I am not willing to risk having him exposed to foreign breast milk other than his mother's. Who knows what kind of side effects he might suffer in the process? I do not want him to become seriously ill from being nursed by you. I understand that you have outstanding good intentions but I forbid you to breastfeed him under any circumstances," she sighed as she calmly began to explain her concerns and worries for her female experiment and by glancing at her she could sense Suzanne's growing frustration. Dr. Clemenceau then bent over to gaze at Suzanne and added with a grim expression, "Listen to me, Suzanne. I know you have a lot of potential to be a great mother but I'm afraid you're just not ready to have a child of your own yet."

"You're still young and there are plenty of things in the world you need to learn first. Now in the meantime you must watch over young Mordecai and keep him safe; once I arrive with the formula, I'll start feeding him." Suzanne's shoulders then dropped and sagged as she reluctantly agreed to Dr. Clemenceau's demands but still let out a low growl just to let her mistress know of her absolute disapproval. Dr. Clemenceau then raised her eyebrow in admonishment and stalked away from her experiment and Suzanne glanced over her shoulder as she watched her creator saunter away in a graceful, regally elegant gait and disappear from view. After a few moments, Suzanne decided to retire into the experiment room and sleep in her cage with Mordecai by her side until Dr. Clemenceau returned.

* * *

She then dialed on the keyboard next to the door that led into the experiment room and it automatically opened before her; she entered the room with Mordecai in her arms before the door finally closed shut on her. Once Suzanne entered the room, she saw an entire hoard of experiments chattering and fighting with one another and among those experiments was Byron, aka Experiment 1901. He was a tall, muscular, brawny experiment with long, flat, spiky ears that were bent upward and scruffy tufts of orangey/yellowish hair on his head; he also had a light orange underbelly that had a peachy tinge with black spots populating his back and had amber yellow eyes. Byron also had a square, firm jaw with six arms, six spikes on his back, and thin, crooked antennae. He looked very similar to 627 with the exception of the oversized forehead.

Byron was so named due to his lording demeanor and had a reputation for being a bully and a ladies' man. At this moment, he was busy bossing around Lumonde, aka Experiment 1932. Lumonde had dark brunette, wavy, short hair with onyx eyes and was dark tanned brown with light olive skin; she also had an angular, rounded head with a narrow and streamlined face. Additionally, Lumonde possessed four arms with black onyx markings around the wrists and had a sable underbelly with pronounced dark zigzag patterns on her belly. She also has long, slender, thin antennae and six spikes on her back with sable tips along with a black zigzag mark on her back.

Lumonde also resembled the late actress Brenda Benet with her compact, octagon-shaped facial outline and her distinctive, almost exotic, Puerto Rican/Native American physiognomy. She also spoke with a thick, mixed Spanish/French accent. "Where do you think you're going, tuts? You ain't going anywhere until I say so!" Byron growled in a commanding, throaty voice as he gripped her right wrist tightly and glared deeply into her eyes. "Let go of her, you damn bastard!" Suzanne shouted at him vehemently and Byron swerved around violent to glower at her with his orange/amber eyes flashing a malignant gleam. "Well, why it isn't the lovely Suzanne," he smirked grimly and maliciously as he flung Lumonde down to the ground hard and stalked over to her with a devilish and insidious glow in his eyes; his voice quickly changed from that of a thunderous and booming, growly, baritone voice to that of a boyishly light, cocky, arrogant tone. "What the hell brings you here to this kennel?"

"I would like to know why is it that you are bossing the experiments around like you are a self-appointed king," Suzanne challenged her brother with a hint of a snarl in her voice. Byron then glowered directly in her face and his lips contorted into a nasty sneer. He had always despised his younger sister from the time they were young experiments because she was always interfering with his affairs and was meddling around with his authority and dominion. Byron especially hated Suzanne due to her strong will and her independent spirit and of how she consistently refuses to bend to his will. But despite of their acrimonious and antagonistic relationship, Byron felt a twinge of affection in his heart and constantly finds himself smitten with the female experiment, and on occasion Suzanne also finds herself staring right at him and looking into his amber/orange colored orbs as they reflected her bedazzling curious eyes right back at her.

There were times when Byron wished he could take her into her arms and kiss her to express his affection for her, to caress her hair with a loving flourish and to whisper sweet nothings in her ear. But he knew that Suzanne was not as passionately enamored with him as he was with her, notwithstanding how many times he wished he could strangle her with his own bare hands. Byron was also painfully aware of the fact that he was not exactly the most faithful male experiment around when it comes to romantic relationships, and the sooner he would hook up with a female experiment, the faster he would dump her and run off with another female to leave his intended shattered and destroyed with distraught tears in her eyes. Suzanne knew that Byron had been eyeing Angie, who was also her best friend, for as long as she could remember and lusted for her with mad, wild passion; she also witnessed Byron and Zaiden, her second eldest brother whose experiment number was 1902, fight tooth and nail for her to the bitter death.

She desperately wanted to settle down with a mate and a child but knew that life with Byron would only lead to heartache and sorrow. Suzanne was not only indifferent to him, but she also loathed and despised him deeply and could not fathom how for the life of her he would always run back to her even after his constant gallivanting with several of her sisters, older and younger. She prayed to God every day, if there was even a God for illegal genetically mutated alien experiments, that the next female that was created would not be used and thrown away like trash by his disgustingly vile, corrupting hands. She had sensed for days on end that the birth of another experiment was fast approaching, and even though she was not as clairvoyant as Cassandra, aka Experiment 1927, who was designed to use the power of premonition by revealing visions that forebode future events, she could somehow pick up subtle hints and clues that something was going on. This was an ability that other experiments lacked, including Cassandra herself.

Cassandra could only pick up subtle hints and clues shortly before she has a significant dream, and when that time approaches, she begins to exhibit strange and puzzling behavior, such as extreme fatigue and lassitude, heightened anxiety, increased hostility and aggressiveness leading to a subsequent propensity to violence, sharpened awareness of her surroundings and an augmentation in extrasensory perception. And after Cassandra awakens from one of her supernatural prophetic visions, she would stumble around in a dazed, hypnotic stupor for several hours as she continues to sense increasingly erratic changes in the atmosphere and to assimilate even more signs that the augured event was imminent. This sometimes baffled Dr. Clemenceau, for she had never intended to bestow Suzanne with this ability. She was supposed to be an intergalactic superspy, not some kind of clairvoyant. This diminutive female must be a highly sensitive and emphatic being for her to be able to sense subtle emotional changes in the air.

Suzanne then snapped herself out of these thoughts and snarled at Byron indignantly before delivering a quick and furious swipe right across his face, making a long and thin scratch mark that stretched from his right eye all the way through his mouth and started to seep out droplets and smears of blood. Byron then quickly became enraged and lunged right for her throat. As Mordecai bounded right out of Suzanne's arms and raced right into the crowd of experiments, Byron then tackled Suzanne right onto the ground and seized his paws on her neck before beginning to shake and choke her. Suzanne struggled and writhed to break free from his grasp as she gasped frantically for air and flailed her arms around in a panic. She also grabbed Byron's arms and attempted to pry his arms from her neck as she peered right into his malignant, glowing, amber/orange-reddish eyes.

But then someone smacks Byron across the face and yanks him by the ears before bending his head backwards and leaning it towards his face. Byron let out a sharp inflection of pain and quickly loosened his grip on Suzanne, who then scrambled onto her feet and gazed with a flustered expression at her rescuer. It was none other than Kelso, also known as Experiment 1947, and he was the main supervisor of all 1,780 experiments. He had thick, willowy, scruffy white fur with long, triangular, curved ears that opened out into round half spheres in the inside of the ears and also had long, slender, bee-like antennae with black tips. He also had spiky, frilly hair that was coated with little black streaks but at the same time was graying from the bottom down to the edge.

* * *

Kelso also had a narrow, long and flat face with an octagon-shaped head akin to a wolf's. He possessed four sturdy, supple, strong arms with long, black, triangular claws and was insulated with a black underbelly. Kelso also had scruffy fringes on his neck and protruding from his jaw outline; his physiognomy also resembled that of W. Mark Felt, the Associate Director of the FBI who helped Washington Post reporters Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward break the story on Watergate. He also had five spikes on his back with black tips and his back was decorated with dark, bold tiger stripes; he even had a short, slick, curved wolf tail. In addition he also had diamond-shaped wine-colored eyes.

Kelso was mainly designed to be an informant to law enforcement officers and various types of public officials by divulging vital information to them in order to help solve puzzling and troubling cases; he also serves as a supervising officer who oversees the experiments' training and helps them undergo rigorous, extensive training exercises to prepare for any potential conflict, very much like the Associate Director of the FBI who oversees and supervises the training of potential FBI agents that are in the Training Division. He is also one of the most trusted male experiments in Dr. Clemenceau's custody and mainly respected by all of the experiments. Like Suzanne, he is also a spy but mainly does undercover operations for not only Dr. Clemenceau but for the Grand Council as well. His missions mostly consist of scourging the entire planet and scout out for any suspicious and illegal activity that might be concealed under the radar of The Council. Kelso is also an expert sharpshooter, who is capable of wielding any weapon, including plasma blasters, and he is able to fight his way around enemies by using various fighting styles, including taekwondo, kickboxing and judo; Kelso could even perform somersaults and cartwheels around the arena and use the environment to his advantage.

Kelso was also one of Dr. Clemenceau's favorite male experiments and she treated him as if he were her own biological son by showering him with lavish attention, including giving him special brand foods, scrubbing his belly when he desired it, and even spending some time with him. The elderly Welsh scientist adored her experiment greatly and tried to give him as much love and attention as possible; she was especially fond of her creation and had doted on him from the time he was a pup. However, some of Dr. Clemenceau's other male experiments began to become insanely jealous of Kelso diverting their creator's love and attention away from them and as a result they proceeded to rebel against him and ignore him while he tries to whip his fellow experiments back into shape. Sometimes his brothers would even heckle and taunt him about possibly having a crush on their creator and mother, infuriating him in the process. One such experiment, of course, was Byron.

Kelso greatly despised Byron due to his knowledge that the male red experiment was deeply infatuated with Suzanne, whom he regarded as an equal partner and as a dear sister. To him, Suzanne matched him in everything he did and was capable of engaging in a hand-to-hand combat with him; sometimes the two siblings would embark on covert missions together and help each other whenever possible. Kelso also cared deeply for Suzanne and was determined to protect her from everything that sought to hurt her, including Byron and many other experiments. He found himself enthralled and entranced by the female French experiment and Suzanne in return found herself bedazzled and enamored by his gentle and tender demeanor. She somehow always found herself looking into his mauve eyes whenever their paths cross.

* * *

Kelso was aware that he was in love with Suzanne but also knew that she was indecisive and uncertain about her feelings for anyone, especially him.

As much as he wanted to take her in as his wife and mate, he was keenly aware of her vulnerable and delicate state and resolved not to take advantage of her for his own selfish means. Nevertheless, he strongly believed in her abilities and was more interested in being her friend as well as her mentor; later on, he could worry about whether or not their relationship should progress to a romantic level. Kelso then draw kicked Byron on the back of the head as soon as he let go of his ears and he toppled to the floor lying face down in the midst of the crowd. He then took out a knife from his holster and aimed it right at his face, causing the normally bold and cocky experiment to cower in fear.

"What the fucking hell is your problem, maggot, trying to boss Suzanne around like she's your subordinate?" Kelso growled in a deep, gritty, husky voice as his lips curled up into a cruel, contemptuous snarl and he approached his older brother slowly with the knife still in his head. Byron's ears flattened as his fur bristled with rage and he sauntered towards Kelso with a threatening stride. "I'm not finished with you yet, you old wise guy," he growled in an even more husky, growly voice. "You touch Suzanne again, I'll make sure I break your skull in half," Kelso offered with an ominous warning. "You jest, you old geezer; you jest," Byron snickered as his audacious, cocky self was restored in him and he slowly got up to his feet while defiantly smirking at his superior officer. Kelso then shoved Byron back down to the ground and this time pointed the knife right into his heart.

"I'm not joking, you little motherfucker," Kelso hissed with a hint of impatience in his voice. "(Laughing) You really think that threat of yours is going to faze me? You got another thing coming," Byron cackled defiantly as he glared superciliously at him. By now the dispute was escalating to the breaking point and Suzanne was terrified for her brothers' lives. Despite of the fact that she hated Byron greatly, she still did not want to see him get hurt. At least he cares for her to some extent, when he is not verbally, physically and emotionally abusing her.

"You think you're a hotshot, aren't you? Well, let's see how hoity toity you are once I castrate you!" Kelso sneered as he continued to aim the knife right at his heart. "I'm in charge of this dump, Kelso. I'm the strongest, smartest and most superior male Dr. Clemenceau has ever created," Byron declared to Kelso proudly as the latter experiment scowled at him indignantly. "Hey, who said that you're the most special experiment around? You're nothing but a condescending, high strung bully!" a Brooklyn-accented voice suddenly cut in and a diminutive, short stunted male experiment stalked into the room with a stagger in his gait. Everyone gasped as they saw Tommy, aka Experiment 1960, strolling into the room confidentially and staring Byron right in the eye. "You really think you're tough, huh? Well I'll show you tough when I get through with you!" Tommy asserted his boldness and audacity to Byron proudly.

At this Suzanne gasped upon seeing Tommy and she felt her body tremble and shake and her knees were beginning to quiver and keel over. The sight of Tommy was once again making her weak; he was a very handsome and charismatic fellow whose proclivity was to charm the ladies and although Suzanne would not want to admit it she was very smitten with him. No, that was an understatement: she was madly in love with him, probably more than Byron and Kelso combined, even though she really loved Kelso dearly like a companion, partner and brother. Suzanne's heart was pounding madly and her stomach was twisting and winding itself into knots. She remained silent and motionless as she stared blankly at the three experiments and watched helplessly as another potentially violent brawl was on the horizon.

"You little wise ass, I'll show you who's tough for sport!" Byron growled angrily and then unsheathed his claws and was about to beat and throttle Tommy senseless when a staunched, tall, erect elderly man with an overflowing, long, hoary black beard and black sideburns stalks suddenly into the room and seizes Byron by the neck before lifting him up from the ground and turning the experiment around to face him. Byron was gagging and choking from his own throat as he gazes hard at his master's face and he could see him sneer at him with great contempt. "What is this insolence, you cowards?" he growled in a low, threatening voice. "Hey, Mr. P, how are ya? Good to see you," Tommy greeted him with a smile as he approached the man and stretched out his hand to welcome him into the kennel. The old man just tossed Byron aside like a wet paper rag and marched towards Tommy before towering over him with an ominous, portentous stance.

"What is the meaning of this dispute between you trogs?" he inquired in a prying manner towards the aliens as he glanced around for someone to reply to him with an answer. Finally Lumonde rose to her feet and walked up to him before facing him directly. "Byron's being a big bully again; he was messing around with me until Suzanne came to the rescue. Suzanne then attacks him without warning and Byron is so provoked with rage that he lunges for her and tackles her to the ground and starts choking her. As soon as he starts attempting to choke her to death, Kelso shows up and grabs Byron by the ears and then proceeds to threaten him."

"Kelso threatened to bash Byron's skull in two and he slammed him down to the floor with a single swift kick. Afterwards, the two of them start to trade barbs and insults at each other and then Tommy emerges out of nowhere and intercedes on Suzanne's behalf. Byron then begins to direct threats at him while making snide comments and would have surely plummeted him to the ground if you had not shown up. Please forgive our rude behavior for not acknowledging your presence," she explained placidly and calmly to the old man as she gave her account of what had transpired in the experiment kennel. The elderly man gave a side glance towards Lumonde while silently acknowledging her and slowly gazes over to look at a trembling Suzanne, who was shaking beneath his feet.

A shrill whimper uttered from her lips and he knelt down before her before petting her softly on the head. "Take ease at heart, my Cheri dame. Don't let those brazen devils fluster you, especially that foolish and audacious Byron over there," he murmured softly to her and he then rose to his feet and addressed the congregation with a loud, somber voice. "If you foolish trogs ever so much as harass and bother your sisters ever again, you shall be dealt with harshly, and I'll make sure that next time your dear mother would not be there to protect you," he admonished solemnly and gravely to his creations, referring to their mistress. "Hey, I wasn't bothering her, that knucklehead over here was!" Tommy protested bitterly before Byron unsheathed his claws in an incensed rage and snarled as he glared right at him. "Do you want me to finish you off, punk?" he sneered with a contemptuous leer. Tommy then brandished out a semi automatic and pointed it right at his older brother as he loaded it up with bullets and he cocked it and fingered the trigger with his index finger.

"You want a piece of this, you asshole?!" he roared at the top of his voice. "I'll get you yet, you little shit!" Byron screamed in a booming, loud voice and he was soon engulfed and surged with flares of fire. His eyes were glowing an orange-yellow color and embers were flickering and crackling an amber saffron glow on top of his head. Byron then charged up a huge pyrokinetic energy ball in his right hand and once he motioned this hand with his other hand, the mass and size of the ball gradually increased. Then, without warning, Byron shot a scorching stream of red-hot fire right at Tommy and the young diminutive male somersaulted out of the way while firing bullets right at him; in response, Byron activated a pyrokinetic force field around him and deflected the bullets away from himself.

The room was shaking and trembling with a tremendous roar and fiery explosions were detonating and blasting out of the ground in quick succession as if they were mines. Just then Tommy was sent flying into the air with a loud yell as an explosive blast fired into his butt and propelled him right off his feet; before he knew it, he found himself tumbling and spinning in midair in a surge of heat as it ebbed and burned away at his fluffy, tender, soft skin. At this he began to curse profusely as he was wrought with sheer pain and agony. Tommy then skidded right onto the ground as he hurtled onto the hard tile floor and bumped on his head, knocking him unconscious. Byron charged up another surge of pyrokinetic energy as small embers were dancing in his hands and he stalked towards the burned and singed Tommy with a malicious laugh.

But then a ray of ultraviolet light zapped right at him and barely grazed his shoulder; startled, Byron scrambled to get away as more ultraviolet shots soon fired at him and he skirted and danced around the barrage of beams to avoid being hit. He was struck by a ray of ultraviolet light and was trapped in a rectangular prism of dark energy; Byron was then electrocuted by a lightning bolt and was shocked into convulsions as electric waves traveled and swept through his entire body. The rectangular prism cage shifted into a dark sphere and Byron was assaulted and overcome with blasts and pulses of dark energy as it pulsated through his veins. Then, as soon as the dark sphere collapsed into a thick cloud of shadows he was flung through the air in a flying motion and with a terrified and startled yell he hurtled right into the wall and smashed into the concrete. Dazed, he toppled onto the floor and was subsequently knocked out.

_That's enough, Byron!_ A voice rang out loudly and everyone directed their attention to the speaker. Among them was a dazzling ruby/maroon colored female macaw experiment with oversized, thick rimmed bifocals, a sapphire, pincher-shaped beak, and blue tips on her wings and tail along with auburn/honey hair on her head; there was also a pair of female twin experiments and a yellow, male experiment. The ruby/maroon experiment was named Sally Jesse, after the famous television consultant host Sally Jesse Raphael who hosted her own show from the 80s and 90s; the twins were called Cecile and Camille and the yellow, male experiment was dubbed Zaiden. Sally Jesse was designed to counsel clients and patients who may have any problems or concerns, including anxieties and emotional/mental insecurities and issues, and give out advice and solutions to try to solve these problems. Sally Jesse is also Dr. Clemenceau's main trusted consultant who gives out recommendations and suggestions to assist her mistress in any tasks she performs.

As for Cecile and Camille, they each possess similar powers, with Camille having the ability to shoot out an X-ray beam from her eyes and inducing her victim to suffer numerous episodes of hallucinations and delirium; she can also use that same X-ray beam to see through any matter, including walls and human bodies. Her older twin sister Cecile, however, not only can communicate and read people's thoughts through the use of telepathy, but she can also wield the power of telekinesis. Sally Jesse also generates and manipulates ultraviolet energy, capable of controlling it into any shape or form, hence the rectangular prism trap. As for Zaiden, he wields the power of electrokinesis, or the ability to manipulate electricity. While Camille can speak perfect English to anyone along with her native alien tongue, Cecile is inheritably mute and therefore can only communicate with her telepathy, enabling her with the ability to access people's minds and thoughts.

* * *

Byron then staggered to his feet, stunned, bruised and beaten to the core, and cast his wary and leery gaze at his assailants. It was none other than Sally Jesse, Zaiden, Cecile and Camille, who were standing some few feet away from their brethren. Two falcon experiments, one a dark shade of black and the other a mixture of white and yellow with cerulean blue eyes, also arrived into the scene and hovered to their places. "Hey, what's going on here?" a raspy, whispery, crackling voice cried out from nowhere as a slithering, slippery snake-lizard like experiment weaved her way into the crowd and scanned up ahead in a fervent search for Tommy, who was apparently her partner. "Thomas! Thomas! Where are you, sonny boy?" she bellowed in a stentorian voice and it wasn't long before Tommy rolled over and hacked a deep cough.

The female grotesque, almost gargoyle-like experiment was immediately overjoyed to find that the wise guy experiment was all right and rushed over to help her dear friend. "Oh my dear God, what did that damn Byron did to you this time?" the female experiment cooed softly as she dashed to his side and nudged him back to his feet. Tommy then brushed up his fur with his hands and shook it wildly to get any debris off him and turned to his female partner in crime. "Jesus, Phyllis, why do you have to embarrass me in front of everybody? You know that Leon is watching over here too!" he protested in a sharp growl as he tried to resist the female's attempts to reassure and calm him. "Don't fluster yourself, sonny. Why not even my eight legs could keep you from running into trouble with your big mouth," Phyllis chided her male partner sternly as she brushed through his fur with her fingers and Tommy just pushed her aside.

"My big mouth?! I was trying to show Byron here a thing or two for messing with poor Suzanne!" Tommy practically exploded as he bared his teeth right at Phyllis, but she frowned at him, unfazed. "Dammit, Byron, I can't believe you're causing trouble for this brethren again," Zaiden snarled as he approached his nemesis threateningly with his claws retracted from his hands. Byron's hands then flared up with a energetic surge and he quickly fired a couple of shots at Zaiden, but the latter whipped up his electric bolts from his hands and with a swift flourish he quickly extinguished the flames into a fizzle. Lumonde smirked devilishly upon seeing the spectacle and Zaiden swerved over his shoulder to grin at her, which the female returned with a seductive smile. "That is all, ladies and gentlemen. It appears that I should leave each and every one of you to their devices and if you need me I will be in the laboratory wing with your mother," Leon announced with a curt and snide tone in his voice and then he pointed at Suzanne.

"You! Come with me, young lady," he commanded in a demanding voice as he snapped his fingers and Suzanne had no choice but to oblige him and follow him right into the laboratory where Dr. Clemenceau was currently at work with the auptosy. But before he left with Suzanne, he glanced around at everyone and gave them only a warning: "If I come back here and I find out that another one of you has started a ruckus amongst your siblings, I will seek you and I will have you captured and incarcerated in a seclusion cell. Is that clear?" Everyone nodded in unison while chorusing, "Yes, master." And then the entire group dispersed in different directions, with Cecile accompanying Camille, Sally Jesse going with the two falcon brothers, and Zaiden taking Angie by the hand and leading her out of the experiment kennel.

* * *

All through this commotion Mordecai had vanished in thin air and was nowhere to be seen, and so was the bondi blue previously seen earlier when Dr. Clemenceau was angrily dragging Magenta through the corridors of the lab all the way to her cage. Incidentally, the two of them were now huddling together behind a chair and had witnessed the bitter disputation between the experiments and Leon unsuccessfully trying to maintain peace between the experiments.

Mordecai's tail was wrapped around his tiny face timidly and he then lowered it down slowly to peer at the trembling and shaking female experiment, who was in no uncertain terms terribly frightened. "Are you all right, ma'am? Are you scared because I'm scared too and I just recently lost my momma," he importuned her gently and in an attempt to cheer her up he grinned at her reassuringly. The female then hiccupped and gawked at him questioningly. "My name's Cyro; I control the power of ice. I'm a cyrokinetic; that's where I got my name," the female experiment explained in a quiet and shy voice. "That's a nice name, Cyro. So, why are you hiding from the rest of the experiments?" Mordecai complimented her as he continued to hold a conversation with her.

"The experiments are bigger, stronger and much more powerful than I am; even though ice is a very impressive element in itself, I can't seem to catch up with the rest of them. And Byron is a big bully himself too and since fire is very effective against ice, he beats me very easily in our training sessions," Cyro continued to explicate candidly to Mordecai as they sat together beneath the wooden chair watching the experiments interact with one another. She then glanced around the room before peering at the young lion cub curiously. "Why did you run away, Mordecai?" she inquired him with her right eyebrow raised. "What do you think?" Mordecai frowned with a thin line as he stared hard at Cyro. "He was going to attack her and I did not want to suffer the brunt of the assault, so I ran. I felt guilty for putting Suzanne in harm's way, however. I wish I could have confronted Byron directly but I couldn't, because he would have hurt me too." "Oh," Cyro nodded understandingly and then she gazed right at his face and smiled.

Mordecai grinned as his face blushed a shade of crimson red and Cyro pecked him on the cheek before giggling bashfully. She then nuzzled him in the muzzle and kissed him softly before she beckoned him over to the laboratory wing, which he obliged. The two youngsters eventually scampered away from the chair and soon enough they were racing towards the laboratory wing in search of Dr. Clemenceau.

* * *

For several days now Suzanne had been sensing something urgent about Dr. Clemenceau's behavior. She had observed her scavenging under her mattresses fervently for a single spiral spring that could be coated with purple paint as she dug and burrowed deep through the thick, dense fibers in a search for the perfect specimen. She had ripped out the thick, soft, willowy hair bristles from several of the hairbrushes that she would commonly use to brush her experiments' fur with her own bare hands; the elderly woman was even often seen setting up her experiment generating equipment by installing the consoles engraved with levers, switches and buttons next to a bubble-shaped machine that was implemented with several colored buttons to be pressed in sequence in order to fully create the experiment's body design.

The main lab room was reminiscent of a dentist's office since there was a long counter with a wide sink cluttered with glasses of various tools, including razors, clamps, scissors, knives, thimble, needle and thread and there was also a big pair of incisors that Dr. Clemenceau would typically use to cut open an organism's chest lying on the other side of the sink. There was a thin, flat, metal table with a rectangular perimeter located in the center of the room that was frequently used for medical examinations, operations, births, and autopsies.

Dr. Clemenceau had been hard at work setting up her experiment generation machine for a couple of weeks and had made sure that the wires were properly connected to their correct outlets and that there were not any exposed or tangled wires lying around on the floor that would cause someone to trip and fall on the ground. She also made sure that the machines and consoles were fully charged and completely operational so she could start work on her latest experiment as soon as possible. The old Welsh scientist was now adjusting the overhead light above the ceiling as she then stared down at her latest victim. The body of Princess Suzannah lay limp on the ground, with the arms sprawled out lifelessly and her head leaning to the right side motionless. Her corpse was rigid and stiff and the texture and feel of the body was already beginning to feel squishy, mushy and grimy, a clear sign of the onset of decomposition.

Dr. Clemenceau's face was covered with a surgeon facial mask as her glasses reflected a gleam of light in her solemn and austere eyes. She then cast her gaze down at the still and dead body of Princess Suzannah and motioned over to the counter to prepare to conduct the autopsy. Dr. Clemenceau then washed her hands thoroughly with hand soap and rinsed them under the faucet; she dried them gently with a small, fluffy towel and wiped the area of the sink dry before placing it back on a hook hung on the wall. It was then that Dr. Clemenceau tied the strings of her facial mask tighter and pulled on some rubber gloves. She picked up a pair of pliers from the counter and strolled over to the corpse to begin to autopsy. As she raised the pliers and pried it open with her hands, the Welsh forensic scientist closed down hard on the chest with a squeeze and the incisors clamped down on the skin and split it open like a crisp piece of dried peaches. As she snipped the chest open into a Y incision, she peeled open the thick layers of the rib cage and started to poke inside the chest cavity.

At first glance, the organs looked very clean and fresh and seemed to have no indication of any disease or fatty build up. The heart also seemed to have a very healthy reddish/pinkish hue but upon closer inspection there was foam brimming on the surfaces, especially in the arteries. To make matters worse, the bodily fluids were very cloudy and murky, looking like clouds of mists hovering over a cool and damp lake. Dr. Clemenceau was holding the overhead lamp downward to where she was examining the organs and took an even closer look. The uterus still had some stretch marks scarring the surface and it was contracted into a little prune, shriveled and severely wrinkled.

Dr. Clemenceau's eyes then twinkled and dazzled a curious spark and she probed the uterus for a closer inspection. She tapped it gently to feel the initial texture of the surface and it was squishy. Dr. Clemenceau then grabbed the uterus with both hands and lifted it out of the chest cavity. She strolled over to the weighing pan and placed the uterus onto the pan to determine its weight. It weighed only 3 pounds and less than 3 ounces, and judging by the structure and condition of the uterus, she must have given birth only fairly recently, maybe some weeks before.

Dr. Clemenceau was beginning to become very puzzled by the results of her autopsy. How was it feasible for this lioness princess to be extremely infected with disease? She seemed to be in such prime condition; were her eyes now deceiving her? There must be some logical explanation. The elderly veterinarian then took a deep breath and walked over to the body again and began removing all of the primary organs from the chest cavity: the heart, lungs, kidneys, spleen, liver, etc. and started placing them on top of the table.

Dr. Clemenceau then took out a sharp knife and started dissecting the heart in little pieces in careful slices. Soon individual pieces of arteries were exposed and Dr. Clemenceau bent down to closely study the specimen. The arteries seemed to be completely obstructed and clogged up with fatty tissue, which was a troubling sign; the right side of the heart was also enlarged and bulging with a dark red tinge with a sickly and almost grayish hue. Dr. Clemenceau then glanced over to peer at Princess Suzannah's face and was greatly disconcerted and crestfallen by her stone-cold, lifeless face. A wave of sadness, pity and despair then washed over the young woman as she silently mourned the young life that was taken too soon and her immediate instinct was to kiss her head before covering her with a blanket and wheeling her out of the makeshift morgue.

* * *

Just then, a tall, statuesque, erect figure emerged from the dark scant shadows and appeared before the Welsh scientist. It was Leon, and with him was Suzanne who was hiding timidly behind his right leg; then moments later a crimson/golden brown-tan dachshund who looks strikingly similar to Slinky Dog, a light neon blue/periwinkle koala bear with an erect crest on top of his head, four arms, and black markings on his back, arms, legs and crest, and a grayish/lavender female experiment with a black mask marking around her eyes and long, luscious, black hair, emerged into the light and crowded around the elderly, staunched man as they looked on at Dr. Clemenceau's work. Simon, who was the dachshund, paddled over to the metal table where Princess Suzannah's body lay and sniffed around her corpse before recoiling in disgust. "Ughhh! What is that stench emanating from that rotten corpse, Doc?" Simon asked Dr. Clemenceau as she looked up with the light shining and radiating her pale, wrinkled face and glared at him. "Simon, get off the table. I am very busy and I do not want you contaminating any of my specimen," she scolded him coldly as she snapped her fingers briskly and Simon trotted out the door, with his koala bear partner remaining behind while looking out at him.

Simon had mostly crimson fur with a tinge of golden brown and tan and also had a light tan coloring in his underbelly, front part of the neck, and lower jaw. His paws were pure white and he also had a short, stubby, antenna-like tail along with a slender, elongated body. Simon also had a broad, angular head with short, floppy ears, and he has sapphire ultraviolet eyes along with a dark brown collar around his neck. Lastly, he has nine legs running down from his upper body to his lower extremities.

As for his koala bear companion, he has a stout, rounded body with a narrow and long face and a small, fat head. His four arms are stubby, supple and enlarged and so are his legs. There are also black diamond-shaped markings blotched on his arms, legs and his back and he also had a diamond-shaped erect crest on top of his head. Garfunkel, as he is called, also has eight frilly spikes on his back as well with black tips and rounded, flat ears. In addition to his beady onyx eyes, he also has a stubby tail and white frilly tufts of hair on his chest.

The third experiment in the trio was Grace, named for Grace Slick, a famous singer and songwriter of the 60's. She had a voluptuous and slender body and an oval and angular head with light, green, jaded eyes. Her long, silky, smooth hair cascaded down her shoulders and hung loosely on her shoulders, and her dark purple nose added a bewitching and beautiful complexion to her already gorgeous and striking face. She is one of the only few experiments that does not have any multiple arms visible other than the usual two. Besides her overflowing, long, slim antennae that is reminiscent of Angel's, she also wears a black checkered headband with a red jewel encrusted on it, not to mention the black markings around the area of her eyes and also on her back.

Together, Simon, Garfunkel and Grace all form a rock psychedelic band together, with Garfunkel primarily on the acoustic guitar, Simon on the strings, piano, guitar and glockenspiel, and Grace on the lead vocals. Notwithstanding, however, Simon and Garfunkel were able to perform vocally on their own and had excellent singing voices, but somehow Grace managed to overpower them dramatically and is therefore more of a stronger singer. Grace's creation arose from Dr. Clemenceau's strong fascination for Grace Slick due to her huge admiration for the band Jefferson Airplane for many, many years, and from time to time she could still be heard rocking out to "Somebody To Love" in the privacy of her own laboratory. She was also delighted and enamored by the lovely and deep music of Simon and Garfunkel and adored their soothing, lyrical, almost poetic voices, which was why she named all three of the experiments after their predecessors. Nothing dragged the old woman back into long stretches of reveries better than the swinging 60s.

"I beg your pardon, Laverne, but I really am sorry to disturb you while you are in the middle of one of your autopsies. But may you please look after Suzanne while I go and look after some affairs? I don't want her near those scumbag male experiments of yours, especially Byron," Leon beseeched Dr. Clemenceau's attention while she was once again interrupted from her tedious work and glanced up to meet her partner. "Oh, of course I can look after Suzanne for a while. She shouldn't be any trouble at all. I'll make sure to tell her not to disturb anything in this lab. I think Simon, Garfunkel and Grace should remain here as well," Dr. Clemenceau relented coolly as she gazed calmly and stoically at him and then looked down to survey the now empty chest cavity. "Very well, then; it shall be done. I should be back within the hour. In the meantime I should expect each and every one of those experiments to behave, is that clear?" Leon conferred his female partner's response before sternly reminding her to keep a strict watch over the experiments. "Hey, I'm not one of those asshole experiments that go around bothering my siblings!" Simon growled in an exasperated and affronted voice. "Silence boy! Your foul language shall not be tolerated!" Leon reprimanded Simon harshly as the young male daschund hung his head low in shame and whimpered as he crouched down in submission.

Grace then lunged at Leon wildly and snapped her jaws at him angrily as she stood in front of Simon in an effort to protect him. In response, Leon collared Grace by the throat and bound her with metallic alien handcuffs in order to keep her still and quiet. Grace then retracted another pair of arms out of her body and fingered with the handcuffs in an attempt to free herself from its clutches. Just then, Cyro and Mordecai burst into the laboratory and Mordecai was crying out, "Dr. Clemenceau! Dr. Clemenceau!" as he raced towards the old woman and into the bright, open light. But upon seeing his mother's dead body for the first time since her death, Mordecai quickly gasped as he froze in his tracks and he started to back down in horror and dismay while managing to choke out a slight whimper; his ears hung low as he crawled away in a crouching position from the table and out of the lab.

"Mordecai? Are you okay?" Cyro inquired worriedly as she looked back at her shaking new friend with a raised right eyebrow. The moment Dr. Clemenceau whirled around to look at Mordecai, Mordecai screamed in a terrified voice and bolted right through the door. "Mordecai!" Dr. Clemenceau cried and she rushed towards him in a brief sprint before catching up to him and scooping him up quickly in her arms; she dashed right to Leon and stopped in front of him, panting and breathing heavily as she glanced up to peer at his solemn and sanctimonious expression. All the while, Mordecai was trembling and quivering in her hands and was also curled up into a tight ball as he shielded himself from the old man in the cup of Dr. Clemenceau's hands. "And may I ask who is this, Laverne?" Leon importuned his female companion crisply.

"I'm sorry, Leon. This is Mordecai; he's under my care now and he is also the infant son of the late Princess Suzannah. He is her youngest cub; all the other cubs are somewhere else, I presume," Dr. Clemenceau sighed deeply as she quickly introduced Mordecai to her long time partner. Leon then studied the cub's facial expressions carefully as he watched his every move and eventually became intrigued by Mordecai. Mordecai's tail twitched slightly as he bent down in a crouched position and hid from him in his guardian's hands. "Why he has such beautiful eyes, Laverne. This is truly a handsome cub. We should definitely put him into good use," Leon whispered in awe as he continued to analyze and study Mordecai's physiognomy. "I know, I fell in love with this cub the moment I first saw him. However, I will not approve of you making any scheme involving profits at all. Mordecai is a living animal, not some kind of pawn for you to toy with," Dr. Clemenceau smiled as she peered down at Mordecai with a gentle leer but admonished Leon firmly on taking advantage of the young orphan.


End file.
